A Quantum Monte Carlo Study of Static Properties of One 3He Atom in Superfluid 4He

TL;DR

This study uses diffusion Monte Carlo to analyze the properties of a single helium-3 atom in superfluid helium-4, providing detailed insights into its energetic and structural characteristics across various pressures.

Contribution

It introduces a generalized reweighting Monte Carlo method to accurately compute the chemical potential of helium-3 impurities in superfluid helium-4.

Findings

Chemical potential aligns well with experimental data

Radial distribution and structure functions are characterized

Effective mass of helium-3 is determined

Abstract

The local environment and the energetic properties of one $^3$He atom solved in bulk superfluid $^4$He are studied by means of the diffusion Monte Carlo method. The chemical potential of the $^3$He impurity is calculated with a generalized reweighting method which allows for a reliable estimation of this quantity. Results for the chemical potential, radial distribution and structure functions, volume-excess parameter, and effective mass are given for several pressures and compared with available experimental data. An overall agreement with experiment is obtained except for the kinetic energy of the $^3$He atom which, in accordance with previous theoretical estimations, appears to be considerably larger than determinations from deep-inelastic neutron scattering.